Cyborg 009
Cyborg 009 was a manga created in 1964 by Shotaro Ishinomori. It is a story about nine cybernetically enhanced individuals from different cultures and backgrounds banding together to stop the terrorist organization Black Ghost. It is considered to be the first superhero team manga and set up some of the basic elements for what Kamen Rider is today. Characters *'Joe Shimamura/Cyborg 009'- A Japanese-American who possesses super speed via an "advanced accelerator module" as well as (to a lesser degree) the powers of the previous 8 cyborgs. *'Pyunma/Cyborg 008'- An African man who has been modified for underwater combat. *'Great Britain aka G.B./Cyborg 007'- A Briton who has shape-shifting powers used for infiltration missions *'Chang Changku/Cyborg 006'- A Chinese man who has the ability to breathe fire *'Gironimo Jr/ Cyborg 005'- A Native American who has super strength,enhanced skin which gives him high resistance to damage (but not invulnerability), and a sixth sense that detects imbalances in nature and the human heart. *'Albert Hienrich/Cyborg 004'- A German who has cybernetic implants that make his entire body a weapon. (gatling gun fingers,concealed rocket launcher in his knee joint etc.) *'Francoise Arnoul/Cyborg 003'- A Frenchwoman and the only female member, she possesses super hearing, X-ray vison and telescopic vision. *'Jet Link/Cyborg 002'- An American who has an earlier prototype version of Joe's Acceleration module and jets in his feet that allow him to fly at Mach 5. *'Ivan Whiskey/Cyborg 001'- A Russian baby whose brain was enhanced by cybernetics, his powers are super intellect, teleportation, telekinesis, ESP, psionic blasts and telepathy. Despite being the most powerful cyborg on the team, Ivan's body cannot maintain the awesome power he wields for very long and usually tires out after using it. As a result he spends most of his time sleeping and only uses his powers when the team is in a situation they can't handle on their own. *'Professor Issac Gilmore' *'Black Ghost'- A shadowy terrorist organization that plots to start World War III so that it can profit off its weapon designs on the black market. 1964 Manga The original manga is available on Comixology as well as 10 out-of-print volumes of the story by publisher Tokyopop . One notable aspect of the US release is that it only covers the first 10 volume arc and the other 26 volumes have never made it to the US. This is because the last story in the 10th volume was supposed to be the final story during its original run in Japan. However, due to fan letters stating their dissatisfaction with the ending and their love of the manga, Ishinomori created more stories throughout the course of his life. It is also due to the manga's sales in the US not meeting Ishimori Pro's expectations, thus any further translated volumes of the manga were put on hold indefinitely. 2013 Graphic Novel An American graphic novel adaptation of the story was released by publisher Archaia Entertainment on September 24, 2013. On January 23, 2013, a preview of the story was released on Comixology. The release of the preview chapter was to honor what would have been Shotaro Ishinomori's 75th birthday. Written by: F.J. Desanto (The Spirit) Conclusion: God's War Conclusion: God's War is the final story of Cyborg 009, it was planned and sketched by Ishinomori towards the end of his life in the late 1990s but the artist died before it could be finished. However, the cartoonist did leave enough notes and sketches for his son Jo Ondera to draft a script and former colleague and assistant Masato Hayase to pen the artwork. On April 13, 2013, 14 years after Shotaro's death, the first volume of the final chapter was released and the second came on May 11th, 2013. It is unknown at this time if the manga will ever be released outside of Japan or if Ishimori Pro's exclusive partnership with Comixology will result in the manga's international release. Links *Learn more at the Cyborg 009 wiki *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg_009 *http://www.comixology.com/Cyborg-009/comics-series/9119 *http://www.jefusion.com/2013/01/re-imagined-cyborg-009-graphic-novel-previews-posted.html *http://www.archaia.com/archaia-titles/cyborg-009/ *http://009.re-cyb.org/ *http://www.jefusion.com/2012/04/cyborg-009-manga-to-conclude-14-years.html